Dolan Says It’s ‘Highly Possible’ the Next Pope Could Be a Non-European

CardinalTimothy M. Dolan, the Roman Catholic archbishop of New York, said on Tuesday that he believed it was “highly possible” that the next pope could come from a non-European country.

“When I was growing up, it was presumed the pope would be an Italian,” Cardinal Dolan said, discussing next month’s conclave to elect a new pope during his live radio show, “Conversation with Cardinal Dolan,” on Sirius XM satellite radio. He said that, when Karol Wojtyla of Poland was elected pope (he took the name John Paul II) in 1978, “that was thought to be an earthquake.”

“And we don’t even think that anymore, do we?” he said. “The pope is the earthly, universal pastor of the church. To think that there might be a pope from North America, to think that there might be a pope from Latin America, a pope from Asia, a pope from Africa, I think that’s highly possible, don’t you?”

As he has since Pope Benedict XVI announced his resignation on Feb. 11, Cardinal Dolan, 63, played down the idea that he might himself be chosen as the next pope.

But he did say that he was jittery about the coming conclave, not because he expects to be among the leading contenders, but because the responsibility of electing the leader of the church “is so awesome.”

He said he hoped to be able to express his gratitude to Benedict on Feb. 28 at the Vatican, before the retiring pope departs by helicopter for Castel Gandolfo, where he plans to remain in seclusion until a new pope is installed and Benedict’s new residence at the Vatican is completed.

Acknowledging that there has been some discussion about when the conclave should begin, Cardinal Dolan said Tuesday that he would prefer to stick closely to a church rule stating that the conclave should not start until 15 days after the papal seat becomes vacant.

“Most of the cardinals of the world are saying that we would certainly hope to have a conclave as soon as possible,” he said, “but on the other hand, you don’t want to rush it, because we need prayer, we need to get to know one another, we need time to let Benedict’s departure sink in.”

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